ISSN: 2578-4994
Authors: Ogunyemi OO*
Birds are an important component of earth's ecosystems. The primary objective of the study was to assess the effect of disturbance on bird species diversity and abundance in the two stratified habitat types (disturbed and undisturbed) of Ikere Forest Reserve from January to December, 2017. Data were collected by employing transect count technique in the early morning (6.00- 10.00a.m) and late afternoon (4.00- 6.00 p.m) for four consecutive days every month in the two vegetation types. During the study, a total of 551 individual birds comprising of 59 species, 18 families and 11 Orders were recorded. Out of 59 identified species of birds, 46 (78%) of the species were recorded from disturbed vegetation, while 30 species were recorded in the undisturbed vegetation. Order Passeriformes constituted the numerically dominant Order represented with 16 species while Pelecaniformes, Galliformes and Colliformes were the least dominant Orders represented with one species each. At the family level, family Nectariniidae was numerically the dominant family represented with 9 species. At species level, Rufous-backed manikin Louchura nigriceps and Great-white egret Egretta alba were numerically the most dominant species. The total abundance of birds was significantly different (P> 0.05) among the two vegetation types. The total abundance of birds ranked higher with 393 birds in the disturbed vegetation. The Shannon- Wiener index of diversity (H') varied from 3.08 in undisturbed vegetation to 3.61 in the disturbed vegetation. There were significant differences in the bird species richness that the different vegetation types supported. The results indicate that disturbed vegetation supported a higher diversity and abundance of birds than the undisturbed vegetation.
Keywords: Species Diversity; Vegetation; Transect; Abundance
